Kuchar steady atop Open leaderboard, Schwartzel slides
SOUTHPORT (United Kingdom): Matt Kuchar remained a joint leader at the British Open on five under par as he hit the turn in his second round on Friday morning.
The giant American shot 65 in his first round after going out in just 29, but he found the going a little tougher on the front nine of his second round in breezy conditions.
He recovered from a bogey at the 2nd with birdies at the 3rd and the short 4th to go to six under par for the championship, before expertly saving par at the difficult 6th hole after hitting his approach shot into thick long grass to the back of the green.
However, a bogey at the 8th saw him rejoin compatriots Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka, with whom he shared the overnight lead, on five-under.
Meanwhile, former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa had briefly joined the leaders on five-under with a birdie at the par-three 4th hole.
But he got himself into trouble at the 5th, needing to take a drop and eventually picking up a double-bogey to slip back to three under par overall.
Further back, Rory McIlroy built on the momentum of his strong finish to his first round by recording birdies at two of his opening three holes on Friday to go one under par for the tournament. Spieth tees off at 2:48pm (1348 GMT) with Koepka following soon after at 3:10pm.